The PCEA is presented by the U.S. Secretary of Education to teachers in the field of cybersecurity to honor their contributions to the education of our nation’s students. The award is bestowed annually to two teachers — one at the elementary level and one at the secondary level — who “demonstrate superior achievement in instilling skills, knowledge, and passion with respect to cybersecurity and cybersecurity-related subjects.” These recipients embody the dedication and expertise of educators who are critical to increasing the cybersecurity awareness of all students, inspiring the nation’s future cybersecurity workforce, and contributing to a more secure society. The award acknowledges both the exemplary achievements demonstrated by the teachers and that of the teacher’s students. The Rules, Terms, and Conditions for the 2024 PCEA are included below. The nomination period opens on August 1, 2024 and closes on September 13, 2024 at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
The 2024 PCEA will be the fifth iteration of the award. The prior four winners are listed below:
- 2020 winners:
- Kara Four Bear of New Town Middle School in New Town, North Dakota
- Donna Woods of Canyon Springs High School in Moreno Valley, California
- 2021 winners:
- Sergio de Alba of Miano Elementary School in Los Banos, California
- Kristina L. Rice of Spotsylvania High School in Spotsylvania, Virginia
- 2022 winners:
- Benjamin Dougherty of Lakota West High School in West Chester, Ohio
- Robert “Allen” Stubblefield, Jr. of Troy High School in Fullerton, California
- 2023 winners:
- Elizabeth Cerrone of The Innovation Center in St. Vrain Valley, Colorado
- Jahi Garner of Palm Middle School in Moreno, California
Rules, Terms, and Conditions
What is the Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award?
The Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award is bestowed on teachers in the field of cybersecurity to honor their contribution to the education of our nation’s students. The process for the award, established by Executive Order 13870 on May 2, 2019, is being led by the Department of Education in consultation with the White House Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD).
The award is presented annually to two teachers—one at the elementary or middle school level (kindergarten through eighth grade) and one at the secondary level—who demonstrate superior achievement in instilling skills, knowledge, and passion with respect to cybersecurity and cybersecurity-related subjects.
Teachers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), and Tribal Nations schools are eligible to apply or be nominated.
Why Apply?
The Administration is committed to enhancing the cybersecurity workforce and recognizing the cybersecurity teachers who serve a critical role in the development of America’s future cybersecurity professionals. All winners will receive:
- A Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award certificate;
- Public recognition as a leader in the field of cybersecurity education
Eligibility
Nominees must:
- Be a “teacher” as defined in this announcement;
- Demonstrate the ability to instill skills, knowledge, and passion with respect to cybersecurity or cybersecurity-related subjects, increase their students’ awareness of cybersecurity issues, and encourage their students to explore further education and careers in cybersecurity or cybersecurity-related subjects as part of their teaching responsibilities at a public or private “elementary school” or “secondary school,” as defined in this announcement;
- Be a full-time teacher of an elementary, middle, or secondary school, or school district, as determined by state and school district policies;
- Teach in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the DoDEA, or Tribal Nations schools;
- Be a U.S. citizen; and
- Have not received this award before.
Definitions
The following definitions are provided for the purpose of this award. Some of the definitions originate from legislation, while others were developed in collaboration with the Federal agencies referenced in the Executive Order establishing this award.
- Elementary school: The term “elementary school” means a nonprofit institutional day or residential school, including a public elementary charter school or tribal school, that includes any grades from kindergarten up to, and including, grade 8, as determined under State law.
- Secondary school: The term “secondary school” means a nonprofit institutional day or residential school, including a public secondary charter school or Tribal school, that provides secondary education, as determined under State law, except that the term does not include any education beyond grade 12.
- Cybersecurity or cybersecurity-related subjects: The term “cybersecurity” means measures that focus on protecting computers, networks, and information from unauthorized access or attacks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: computer science, coding, cyber-operations, cyber-science, cyber-society, cryptography, data loss prevention and encryption, forensics, malware detection, system administration, software development and protection, web exploitation, computer networks and security, information sciences and technology, information security, reverse engineering, password protection, social or systems engineering, defensive hacking, and security intelligence. Please note, the teaching of content such as “cyber-bullying,” “cyber-hygiene,” and “cyber-awareness” do not fall under this definition.
- Teacher: The term “teacher” means an individual who is employed in a public or private elementary school or secondary school, and who is responsible for educating students on cybersecurity or cybersecurity-related subjects.
- Superior educator accomplishment: The term “superior educator accomplishment” means a teacher’s evidence of conducting teaching and learning about cybersecurity or cybersecurity-related subjects at an increasing level of complexity over the last five years with demonstrated exceptional outcomes. Examples of such accomplishment include, but are not limited to, demonstrated evidence that the teacher has, over the last five years:
- taught the knowledge, skills, and tasks of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Framework;
- increased cybersecurity career awareness;
- infused cybersecurity across curricular disciplines;
- integrated innovative cybersecurity educational approaches;
- developed work-based learning and training through an employer partnership or consortia;
- designed academic and/or career pathways aligned to the NICE Framework or the multi-part definition of career pathways from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act;
- started a successful cyber program, club, competition team, or mentoring program;
- attended professional development workshops; (
- led a cyber camp;
- learned an industry-valued credential or certification in a cybersecurity or cybersecurity-related subject; and
- scaled or repeated a cybersecurity intervention (e.g., lesson, partnership, etc.) across a school district, state, or the country.
- Academic achievement: The term “academic achievement,” with respect to a teacher’s students, means the increased knowledge, skills, and abilities of the students in cybersecurity or cybersecurity-related subjects. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- high grades;
- a concentration in a Career Technical Education (CTE) cybersecurity program of study;
- passage of performance-based cybersecurity assessments;
- participation in a cybersecurity work-based learning opportunity via an internship, apprenticeship, or other employment;
- an industry-valued credential (including trade or degree) in cybersecurity;
- military placement; or involvement and significant placement in student cybersecurity competitions, such as CyberPatriot.
The Award Process: Overview
Nomination Process
Nominations should be submitted to CyberAwards@ed.gov.
The information provided by either nominators or teachers themselves (self-nominations) is completely voluntary. Anyone, including principals or other administrators; teachers; parents; students; state and local educational agency staff; Federal, state, and local elected officials; and the public may nominate exceptional individuals who teach, promote, or inform students about cybersecurity or cybersecurity-related subjects in a public or private elementary or secondary school.
To submit a complete nomination, the following information is required:
- Teacher’s name
- Level of education taught (elementary or secondary)
- Work information required:
- Teacher’s state
- Teacher’s city
- Teacher’s work information (name and address of school, school district, or facility)
- Teacher’s work email address
- Teacher’s work contact number
- Nominator’s work email address and phone number (for nominations that come from someone besides the teacher (e.g., principal nominating a teacher))
- One narrative not exceeding 500 words that describes, with respect to the nominated teacher, superior teacher accomplishment (as defined in this announcement). A second narrative not exceeding 500 words that describes academic achievement (as defined in this announcement) by the teacher’s students. Narrative submissions may include a weblink or a video that showcases accomplishments, but a weblink or video is not required.
- One letter of reference from a principal, school district superintendent, or general reference (e.g., a parent, local industry leader, community leader, etc. with whom the teacher has worked) with a work contact email and phone number. Should the nominee be a top candidate, the PCEA reviewers will contact the reference to verify the following with respect to the nominated teacher: (1) superior educator accomplishment; (2) academic achievement by the teacher’s students; and (3) that the teacher is in good standing (e.g., currently not on probation; has received positive yearly reviews; etc.).
Nominations may be submitted by the same individual or entity for more than one teacher as separate nominations.
The nomination period opens March 30, 2026, and closes on May 31, 2026, at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Nominations should be submitted to CyberAwards@ed.gov.
Instructions to Nominators
Eligibility will be confirmed by ONCD reviewers. Incomplete nominations will be considered ineligible. Nominators should provide evidence in the narrative format described in the Nomination Process section of this announcement. Documents will be accepted in Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) or Adobe Portable Document file (.pdf) formats. Please include the teacher’s name, teacher’s school name, city, and state, and page numbers on each page of the nomination. If the nomination is being prepared by someone other than the nominee, the nominator is encouraged to work with the nominee to complete the nomination to ensure that the information is reported accurately.
The award is focused on those who demonstrate their abilities teaching students in a variety of methods and environments (classroom, co-curricular, after-school programs, work-based learning, etc.), not only on those who are cybersecurity practitioners. The Executive Order focuses on demonstrated teaching accomplishments, and does not solely consider the teacher’s “research, scholarship, or technology development.” Therefore, there is no requirement that information about a teacher’s “research, scholarship, or technology development” be included in the nomination, and such information will not be considered during review and selection
Review Criteria
Each nomination will be evaluated based on the entirety of the document submitted. The following criteria will be used during the review of nominations:
- The extent to which the teacher demonstrates evidence of superior accomplishment related to teaching about cybersecurity and cybersecurity-related subjects;
- The extent to which the teacher substantiates teaching effectiveness using external indicators of academic achievement as defined in this announcement; and
- The extent to which the teacher’s leadership contributes to educational excellence at the school, district, state, and/or national level.
Selection
All nominations will be subjected to the following review process:
Once the nomination period has ended, ONCD will review the nominations for eligibility and assign all eligible nominations for review by Federal staff (reviewers) with expertise in cybersecurity, technical education, or cybersecurity-related education.
Copies of each eligible nomination will be provided to reviewers for the selection of awardees. Staff will maintain strict confidentiality when reviewing nominations and notify the Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award Manager should any conflicts of interest arise.
The reviewers will then each provide their recommendation for one elementary and one secondary teacher awardee. ONCD will review, vet, and notify the awardees of their selection using the contact information provided in their nomination.
Questions or Technical Assistance
Please contact the Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award Manager at CyberAwards@ed.gov.
Authority
The Secretary of Education is responsible for administering the Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award as authorized under Executive Order 13870. The Department of Education, in consultation with the White House Office of the National Cyber Director, will review nominations and select awardees.
Privacy Act Statement: Executive Order 13870 provides the authority to collect this information. The main purpose of collecting this information is to select awardees for the Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award. The information provided is voluntary. Should nominations not provide the information requested, nominations may be deemed ineligible. The collected information may be disclosed without the nominees’ or awardees’ prior written consent pursuant to such routine use disclosures. A complete list of routine uses can be found at the following in the system of records notice published at the following address:
